Steve Lonegan loses again

Tom MacArthur defeated Steve Lonegan in New Jersey’s 3rd District Republican primary Tuesday and will face Democrat Aimee Belgard in the fall, according to The Associated Press.

MacArthur, a former insurance executive, won 60 percent of the vote, and Lonegan, a conservative activist, won 40 percent, with 41 percent of precincts reporting. In the Democratic primary, Belgard won with a commanding 78 percent of the vote.

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MacArthur loaned his campaign at least $2 million, giving him a cash advantage over Lonegan, who is best known for being the outspoken GOP nominee against Cory Booker in the special Senate election last year. MacArthur also won key endorsements from the district’s two county GOP organizations.

In addition to falling short in the Senate race, Lonegan also lost a primary bid to Chris Christie in the 2009 gubernatorial primary.

“We may have lost tonight, but the fight for our conservative values continues,” Lonegan said in a concession statement on Tuesday. “We must hold those nominated by the Republican party accountable — that means voting like a conservative not a liberal and it means repealing Obamacare not replacing it with Obamacare light.”

MacArthur said he wants to reach across the aisle and “emulate Ronald Reagan,” and gave Lonegan and his supporters a nod “for a hard fought race,” according to his prepared victory speech.

GOP Rep. Jon Runyan is retiring from the South Jersey seat. President Barack Obama won the district by five points in 2012.

As Runyan, a former Philadelphia Eagles tackle, leaves Congress, Republicans in the adjacent 1st district nominated former Eagles linebacker Garry Cobb. But Cobb is a heavy underdog against state Sen. Donald Norcross, who won the Democratic nod.